Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07CONAKRY1091
2007-10-01 14:54:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Conakry
Cable title:  

WITHOUT SYLLAH, MAJORITY PARTY IS STRONG AND UNITED

Tags:  PGOV PREL KDEM GV 
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VZCZCXRO3468
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #1091/01 2741454
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 011454Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1701
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 001091 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM GV
SUBJECT: WITHOUT SYLLAH, MAJORITY PARTY IS STRONG AND UNITED

REF: A) CONAKRY 1066

Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 (B) AND (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 001091

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL KDEM GV
SUBJECT: WITHOUT SYLLAH, MAJORITY PARTY IS STRONG AND UNITED

REF: A) CONAKRY 1066

Classified By: POL/ECON CHIEF SHANNON CAZEAU FOR REASON 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. Majority party members report that the
dismissal of Mamadou Syllah as honorary president of the PUP
was necessary in order to ensure party unity. With him gone,
contacts say the party is stronger than ever. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Poloff met separately with two senior members of
the ruling Party for Unity and Progress (PUP) on September

26. At PUP headquarters, poloff spoke with Sekou Konate,
Secretary General of the party and head of its executive

SIPDIS
board. Konate is a close friend of Mamadou Syllah,s and
represents one side of the internal debate within the PUP.
At the National Assembly, poloff met with Aliou Banire
Diallo, President of the PUP Parliamentary Group within the
National Assembly and a member of the party,s executive
board. Diallo represents the other side of the PUP, which
has been more critical of Syllah,s participation in the
party. Joining Diallo in the meeting was Cheick Tidiane
Traore, the youngest deputy to the National Assembly.

--------------
PUP ALIVE AND WELL
--------------


3. (SBU) Sekou Konate said the PUP,s recent upcountry trip
was a "surprising success.8 Organized by Konate, along with
Mamadou Syllah, the trip was intended to mobilize the party
and jumpstart election preparations. Konate confided that he
expected to find the &PUP dead in the interior,8 but
instead found warm welcomes nearly everywhere. In
particular, he noted that the group was well-received in
N,Zerekore, Kankan, Mamou, Labe and Kindia. With respect to
Labe, Konate said that opposition parties warned the PUP to
stay away from the region, which is reportedly a strong
support base for key opposition parties. However, the
meeting in Labe went well and there were no disturbances,
Konate said. Konate added that party members conveyed a
clear message of resounding support throughout the country.
&We are a party united,8 he said.

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KOUYATE IS IGNORING US
--------------


4. (C) Turning to relations with the Kouyate government,

Konate expressed frustration. He said that the PUP fully
supports Lansana Kouyate as prime minister because he was
designated by President Lansana Conte according to specific
provisions within the constitution. However, Konate said
that Kouyate completely ignores the PUP and refuses to hold
consultations. In the past, he added, previous prime
ministers would always hold private consultations with the
PUP in deference to their role as the majority party of
government. Konate said that the PUP is invited to all
meetings, but it is not enough. &We should not be informed
at the same time as all the other parties,8 he said. &As
the majority elected party, we should be consulted in private
before decisions are made.8

--------------
NO HARD FEELINGS
--------------


5. (C) A close friend of Mamadou Syllah, Konate commented on
President Conte,s recent decision to remove Syllah as the
honorary president of the PUP (reftel). He said that Syllah
is someone who has truly helped the country and that is why
Conte gave him the honorific title. However, Konate said
that Syllah wanted to play a more prominent role within the
party and had requested that he be designated vice president,
a position that does not currently exist under the party,s
bylaws. According to Konate, Conte saw this as a threat to
his own power and "was smart enough8 to ask Syllah to step
down. Konate added that Syllah and Conte are still close
friends and that there are no hard feelings between them over
the decision, pointing out that Konate, Syllah and Conte had
all lunched together privately just the day before.


6. (C) Konate said that in large part, Conte,s decision was
simply strategic. Disagreements over Syllah,s role were
dividing the party and according to Konate, the President
felt that it was more important for the party to be united.
Konate added that &if the PUP splits, this country will be
burning. The PUP has an interest in maintaining peace
because we have built it for the last 26 years,8 he said.

--------------
FOR UNITY, WE PROVOKED ACTION
--------------

CONAKRY 00001091 002 OF 002




7. (C) The meeting with Aliou Banire Diallo revealed a
slightly different version of events. According to Diallo,
Syllah was hungry for power and miscalculated his influence.
Internal debates within the PUP over recent months were
becoming increasingly unproductive and threatened to divide
the party completely, Diallo said. As a result, Diallo,
along with Aboubacar Sompare, President of the National
Assembly, said they made a calculated political move by
publishing an intentionally provocative communiqu in which
party members decried Syllah,s efforts to gather more power.
Diallo said they did this in order to force action because
they feared that the party would become increasingly divided
over the issue just when it needed to be unified for
elections.


8. (C) According to Diallo, the tactic worked because
shortly thereafter, President Conte dismissed Syllah.
Furthermore, the party held an regular meeting after the
dismissal and everyone was present with no evidence of hard
feelings, Diallo said. He added &no-one was victorious, it
was ultimately the party that won and it is only with unity
that we can ultimately win the elections.8

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


9. (SBU) Konate,s glowing report of the PUP mission
upcountry is in direct contrast to local media reports as
well as information from various contacts. While the PUP may
have received a warmer reception than anticipated, credible
sources report that Mamadou Syllah was not well-received, and
in some cases, even booed (reftel).


10. (C) Party representatives seemed eager to convey the
message that the PUP is strong and united. Konate and Diallo
communicated with each other prior to poloff,s meetings so
that each knew the other was meeting privately with the
Embassy. The PUP appears to be gearing up for elections and
seems aware that they likely have a tough campaign ahead of
them. Removing Mamadou Syllah may help the party refocus its
energies on its more pressing agenda. END COMMENT.
CARTER